CNN:
At a time of growing concern about North Korea’s missile program, South Korea, Japan, and the United States will hold their first-ever joint anti-missile exercise next month, South Korea’s Defense Ministry told CNN Monday.
“It will involve one Aegis-level vessel from each country,” said the ministry, referring to warships that can shoot down enemy ballistic missiles.
The three countries will practice “detecting and tracing a hypothetical North Korean missile,” said a ministry official. But the drill will not involve firing an actual missile to practice interception. Instead, the drill will be focused on the exchange of information among the units involved.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Jamie Davis said he could not comment on specifics, but the exercise would be held on the sidelines of the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) event in June. Headquartered in Hawaii, RIMPAC is described by the U.S. Navy as “the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.”
The exercises were developed within the context of an information-sharing agreement signed by the three countries in December of 2014, Davis said.
